demosdemos

December 23, 2013

May 19, 2013

For a profoundly revisionist take on the Florentine listen to this "Occupy interview" with John P. McCormick, Professor of Political Science from U Chicago, and author of Machiavellian Democracy. You can also read McCormick's brief article, "Defending the People from the Professors," which not only departs from the the Machiavellis of old, ( Straussians, neo-Republicans, and those who McCormick refers to as "self-proclaimed radicals,") but presents a Machiavelli for "democrats" for "theoretical insight, institutional inspiration, and spiritual fortification."

May 1, 2013

Here’s a fact that may not surprise you: the children of the rich
perform better in school, on average, than children from middle-class or
poor families. Students growing up in richer families have better
grades and higher standardized test scores, on average, than poorer
students; they also have higher rates of participation in
extracurricular activities and school leadership positions, higher
graduation rates and higher rates of college enrollment and completion.

And,

Meanwhile, not only are the children of the rich doing better in school
than even the children of the middle class, but the changing economy
means that school success is increasingly necessary to future economic
success, a worrisome mutual reinforcement of trends that is making our
society more socially and economically immobile.